The invention is in the field of sewing machine cabinets, more particularly, those cabinets having the capability to support the sewing machine for free arm use in addition to for flat bed use.
The prior art cabinets in this field fall generally into two categories, those that accommodate to cylinder bed sewing from flat bed sewing by changing the level of the sewing machine by some form of elevator device such as in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,589 and those that accommodate to cylinder bed sewing by allowing a portion of the cabinet to be displaced from the sewing machine as for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,806,217 and 3,797,425. These cabinets have the drawbacks of being expensive to manufacture, cumbersome to use or allowing only limited clearance for use as a cylinder bed sewing machine with insufficient work supporting surface.
Simultaneous with the above developments in cabinets have been the developments in sewing machines themselves permitting ready conversion from flat bed use to cylinder bed use by rearrangement of a panel shiftably supported by the sewing machine bed. Such disclosures are contained in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 445,508, filed on Feb. 25, 1974 and in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,762. The use of sewing machines so constructed greatly simplifies the change over from flat bed use to cylinder bed use in table top use of the sewing machine.
What is desired is a cabinet or work table which will accommodate those sewing machines having readily convertible beds, which cabinets may be equally as readily converted to cylinder bed use without any of the drawbacks noted for prior art cabinets, and, which will also further enhance the utility of the sewing machine.